Bishop: proposed cuts to food stamps are a ‘moral scandal’

September 06, 2013

Proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), popularly known as food stamps, are “a moral scandal that betrays our nation's best values and highest ideals,” Bishop Oscar Cantu of Las Cruces said in a recent newspaper column.

Writing in the Las Cruces Sun-News, the New Mexico bishop said that “when I listen to parishioners' stories, I hear the pain in parents' voices when they work overtime or even hold down two jobs to make ends meet, but still have trouble feeding their children. No one who has a job and works an honest day should have to make a choice between paying rent and buying food.”

“Elected officials and citizens have a reasonable concern about our national debt,” he added. “We must be prudent stewards of fiscal resources. However, it is inhumane and ultimately irresponsible to squeeze savings from effective programs that help people from falling into poverty.”

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